Q&A with BIMM London’s Tom Dunne

Thanks to BIMM London, this week I get to travel up to Liverpool to do some press at Liverpool Sound City Festival. Among the fantastic lineup The Cavern Stage will host some of BIMM’s finest as part of the Emerging Talent. I caught up with BIMM London’s Tom Dunne ahead of his performance to talk about his exerpience at BIMM, music and finding inspiration.

1. How did you initially get into music?

Hey, hope you’re all good! I always listened to and enjoyed music but got into it all quite late. Didn’t realise it could be a job until some of my mates starting gearing towards that path!

2. You’re representing BIMM London during your performance at Sound City festival. How did that come about?

Yeah, it’s going to be cool. I met crimsons from Manchester down at the Great Escape. Going to be good to watch their set. Did a few things for BIMM London since starting and got introduced to Suzi in Ireland this year.

3. What have you kept in mind for you and your band whilst preparing for the set?

Mainly just trying to get a new song down. Really looking forward to trying that out and seeing how it goes down. Been playing a similar set out for a while whilst trying to get everything together. So this is the first of a new phase.

4. Over the recent years, you’ve started to make a name for yourself and performed at some popular venues and events such as Secret Garden Party. You’ve also been played on BBC Introducing. What opportunity has been your favourite and memorable so far?

Yeah, Secret Garden Party was really cool; getting that artist wristband for the first time to a festival I would pay to go to. [I] would love to thank BBC Introducing and BBC Berkshire in particular for the opportunity to showcase stuff and a few of their nights and playing at their Xmas party last year. They hooked up a play on Radio 1 for a single I’m releasing in the next coming of months, so that was a real memorable moment!

5. In your own words, how would you describe your sound?

Hmm, it’s a real hard one [as] it’s changing a lot at the moment. I lean toward electro soul but nothing’s set as of yet. It’s under the contemporary umbrella.

6. There’s a lot of electronic based music coming out at the moment within various genres such as pop. How do you put your own identity on your music when you song write?

Just try not to think about it too much and I feel you just gravitate towards what you like organically. From a compositional point of view I got into it all rather late and didn’t have a classical background so can ignore the rules of songwriting as such and just find myself writing what I think sounds nice.

7. Just really excited to get something released and start that chapter of it all. I’ve been playing with the boys for a couple of years just meeting people and getting to know how it all works. Now I want to get something out for people to enjoy and follow it up with better music and more shows!

8. How has your experience at BIMM helped you with your career?

I’ve met some incredible players who have, just by hanging out with them, made me really step up my playing and concentrate on all the elements and you get to dive into their world. Just having the time to really concentrate and immerse myself in the London scene has been so valuable!

9. Would you recommend aspiring musicians involve themselves in a music performance education to further their careers?

It’s all circumstantial. I wouldn’t be able to make that decision for someone else. But for me [sic] I really feel it was a great thing to meet some awesome people and really concentrate on what I wanted to do. I’ve learnt a lot from the tutors and other students!